7/30/2019 What is Social Constructivism
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What is Social Constructivism?
Social constructivism provides a psycholinguistic explanation
for how learning can be
fostered effectively through interactive pedagogical practicesIt
emphasizes that learning
takes place in a socio cultural environment and views learners
as active constructors of their
own learning environment(Mittchell and Myles 1988). We learn not
as isolated individuals
but as active members of societyWhat we learn and how we make
sense of knowledge
depends on where and when (i.e. in what social context) we are
learning
Teaching Strategies
To implement a social constructivist approach, teachers must
bear in mind not to use a
traditional teaching style such as lecturing. They need to
create a classroom community that
supports a participatory environment which could increase
students opportunity for
interaction and conversation with one another to express and
discuss their ideas. If teachers
succeed to develop this community, not only they success to
implement a social constructivist
approachbut also it could increase students performance in
developing theirreasoning skills
and arguing their ideas in a persuasive and respective ways
(Reznitskaya, Anderson & Kuo,
2007 cited in Wikipedia, 2011).
A constructivist teacher should be able to develop a learning
context in which learners are
engaged in interesting activities. Teachers encourage the
students and facilitate learning. This
does not mean that the teachers only stand and watch how the
students explore and discover,
they might need to scaffold the students as they solve the
problems or tasks, encourage
learners to work in groups, and direct them to real life
situations. Therefore, teachers, alsopeers and others community
members of students, facilitate cognitive growth of the
students
mind.
Cooperative Learning
One of the teaching strategies in line with Vygotskys theory is
cooperative learning.
Cooperative learning is a teaching strategy in which the
students are put into a small group
where each member in the group has a different level of
competence. In this strategy, each
member of the group is responsible not only for understanding
the content being taught but
also helping their group mates learn.
Johnson and Johnson (1986 cited in Steakley, 2008) mentioned,
students who are encouraged
to learn in a small group would develop a greater critical
thinking and have longer students
retention in learning than those students who are working alone.
Moreover it will enhance
students' social skills and encourage student self-esteem. By
using the cooperative learning
strategy, students will be more productive in solving the
problem rather than to be
competitive with others.
